


Seeker

by Dullard



Category: Original Work
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-13
Updated: 2019-02-07
Packaged: 2019-09-17 19:53:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 34
Words: 5,341
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16980777
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dullard/pseuds/Dullard
Summary: An adventure comic about memories.





	1. Chapter 1

 

 

 

You are now a tiny, adorable bunny. 

What will you do? 

 

 

 

You’re on a hill, and there’s another one ahead, judging by the sloping ground. There’s a whole lot of rocks and flat things out there like this pillar, and something pretty big in the distance. It’s really foggy, though, so you can’t tell what it is for sure.

 

 

 

You…don’t know, actually. You just kind of woke up here. You don’t remember anything else before this.  

But you’re not gunna stay on this pillar-thing, that’s for sure. 

 

 

 

Nothing. You must be the only one here.

 

 

 

Really? Honestly, this entire place is odd. The grass is the only thing that you consider to feel…right, you guess.

 

 

 

Well, as long as no one’s around…

 

 

You whistle a tuneless melody. Quietly, though, just in case.

 

 

 

 

 

 _What?_ Look, you have no idea what that means, but you don’t appreciate the insinuations. You’re just fine out here on your own without doing any of  _that._

 

 

__

__

__

Okay, first of all, you’re not familiar with that terminology. Second, there’s no reason to do any of that when you can just walk like a normal person, and third, relax, because you’ve already checked, and no one else is here.


	2. Chapter 2

 

 

 

He speaks before you can do either of those things.

“You are here,” he says. His voice lacks almost any inflection. “That is interesting. I did not put you here.”

“What?” you say.

 

 

“I put you there. On that.”

“Oh,” you say. “I, uh…I moved.” 

He says nothing in response. There is an excessively long and awkward pause. He stares at you the entire time without blinking.

 

 

 

You rush out your questions before he can speak again. “So who are you? What are you? Why did you put me up there? And what’s with your ears?”

“Ears,” he repeats.

“Yeah. You’ve got weird, long ears. Why?” 

 

 

“I am like you,” he says. “You are like me. You are of me. The pattern.”

You wait for him to elaborate. He doesn’t. Nor does he answer your other questions.

 

 

 

“So, uh… I noticed you have a mask.”

 

 

“Is there a reason for that or…”

 

 

“Are you just gunna keep staring at me?” 

 

 

 

 

“Well! This has been a thing, but I’m gunna go, uh…”

“This place,” he says. “It was not always this way.”

“What happened to it?” you ask without thinking. 

 

 

To your relief, he answers almost immediately. “I cannot see. This world is mine, and it is broken. It hides itself from me. It does not know you. It will listen.”

“I don’t know what that means,” you say.

“You will seek out the truth.” He pauses again, this time in consideration. “The Seeker. That is you.”

“Is that my name, or my job?” you ask. 

 

 

“I will wait up there,” he says. “Return if you find the truth.”

“Woah woah woah, hang on!” 

 

 

“What makes you think I’m just gunna do what you say?” 

 

 

“You have something else to do?”

 

 

 

You are now the Seeker. You have been given the job of investigating the ruins of this world and discovering the truth of what happened here. 

What will you do?

 

 

 

The pillar itself is really weirdly structured. Most of the inside is hollow, but the broken off top is solid rock. 

 

 

The symbol, meanwhile, looks like either an I or a 1. It’s indented and crudely carved. You’re not sure what this means.

 

 

 

You take a nap inside the pillar. 

When you wake up, you feel like you had a great sleep. Which is incredible, because you were only in there for about two minutes. 

 

 

 

You spend a few minutes thinking up some zingers for when you have to talk to him again, but something tells you they won’t get a response. That dude’s just off in more ways than one. 

 

 

 

You are not a competent seamstress. 

Well, maybe you can try again later. 


	3. Chapter 3

 

To the ruins!

 

 

 

You are now in the ruins. You kind of wish you weren’t. 

 

 

 

This place is a mess. Some of these big things are pillars and parts of a building (you think?), most are just rocks, and there’s piles of debris everywhere. The huge thing you saw from the top of the hill is now completely hidden in the fog.

 

 

 

The pillar is only decorated on one side. The top has writing on it that doesn’t make any sense to you. 

 

 

The bottom has a picture of…what is that, a snake? A bird? Whoever did this is a terrible artist.

 

 

 

You mean like that?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Why would that-

 

 

Huh. Weird texture on this thing. It barely feels like it’s corporeal enough to bite in the first place. 

And…why does it taste salty?


	4. Chapter 4

 

These markings don’t mean anything to you, except that you have the faintest feeling of…nostalgia, you guess, by looking at them.

 

 

 

Well,  _it’s_  not saying anything, but…

 

 

Ugh…

 

 

 

You can’t think of anything. Your head hurts so bad that the rest of your body is starting to ache, too.

 

 

 

You don’t-

You need…you need space. Everything’s…

 

 

 

That sounds like a good idea.

 

 

Maybe if you just…

 

 

Here. 

 

 

The ocean always did make you feel better. 

 

 

 

Is something wrong? You’re perfectly alone out here. That’s why you’re out here in the first place.

 

 

 

Those are stars.

Well, that’s what you call them, anyway. They’re not  _really_  stars. But they are a sight for sore eyes. And sore heads.

 

 

 

With pleasure.

 

 

 

Heavens, you don’t know. They change all the time. Sometimes they even move while you’re watching. You’ll have to get someone to study them for you.

 

 

 

You came from up the hill, of course. You weren’t paying much attention - your head hurt so badly - but this place wouldn’t mislead you if you intended to come here, no matter which way you wandered in from.


	5. Chapter 5

 

No need. He’ll come to you, like always. 

And, right on cue, you hear unnecessarily cautious footsteps approach you.

 

 

“My lord?”

 

 

 

“You’re allowed to approach me, you know,” you say, genuinely pleased to see him despite your still-aching head.

“I apologize for interrupting your solitude,” he says quietly. “I was- you left rather suddenly.” 

 

 

“Ah. Ha. I’m just a little tired. I’ve been stretching myself out too much recently.”

“Oh.” He shuffles uncertainly. “Is there something I can do to help?” 

 

 

“No, but thank you. Go on back to the lab. I’ll be with you all shortly.”

“As you wish.”

 

 

 

“…Actually, there is something.”

“Yes, sir?”

 

 

“Seal the door and take down the sigils, if you would.”

“All of them? Are you sure?”

 

 

“We can’t afford to be interrupted. As soon as we’re done, we’ll put everything back up. But for now…”

 

 

“…we have a lot of work to do.”

 

 

 

 

 

You freak out at the gravity of the situation. 

 

 

 

_THIS IS NOT THE TIME FOR PUNS_

 

 

 

 

You don’t know who either of those people were! Not even the one that you were seeing through. But that wasn’t you, that’s for sure.

 

 

 

Alright, let’s… let’s take a second to consider this. 

It wasn’t your personality or anything getting erased. It was more like someone else’s mind just sort of…plastered itself onto yours for a minute. Those words and emotions weren’t yours, you know that. But at the time, it felt like they were. 

It’s really confusing and hard to pinpoint, honestly. 

 

 

 

Well, that headache definitely wasn’t yours.

It’s really hard to pinpoint exactly what was going through your-  _their_  head. You know there were little observations and fleeting thoughts bouncing around, just like your actual brain, but the headache and the stars were taking up so much of your-  _their_  focus that they didn’t really keep track of them all.

You’d go over it again, but it’s just a memory now. Or, like… a memory of a memory? Something like that. 

Whatever it is, it’s extremely confusing to try to define and your actual head’s starting to hurt for it. 

 

 

 

You’re  _pretty_  sure you saw it turn into wisps before you went through that whole mess. It must have, because all that’s left here is some normal rocks and a pillar. 


	6. Chapter 6

 

Hey, that’s an idea. Maybe mask-guy will know something. 

 

 

Unfortunately, the fog’s so thick you can’t really tell which direction is up. 

 

 

 

You’re starting to wonder if you can vote out whoever’s coming up with all of these dumb ideas.

Firstly, you just screamed pretty loudly, and no one’s come by to see what’s up. Even if your life was in peril, you doubt that noodle-dude would come to your rescue. You’re going to need to get back to him yourself.

Secondly,  _what does that mean?_  What’s a Rock Overlord, what’s a parent, and what’s  _eating?_

 

 

 

That’s better. 

You’ll admit that you don’t know skin-’n’-bones that well, but whoever you were seeing through felt like a totally different person. They actually emoted, for one.

 

 

 

It’s a possibility, certainly, if that even is a bird (seriously, whoever did that needs to be fired immediately). But you don’t think so. You’ll just have to keep exploring and trying to figure things out.

 

 

 

This tastes absolutely disgusting, but something about it makes you want to pose like a badass. The wind even picks up and helps out.

 

 

 

While these dumb ears of yours can’t do anything other than dangle uselessly, you immediately drift away into flights of fancy. You’ll have to talk with mask-guy and see if this can be made a reality.

 

 

 

Better not waste any more time. You pick a random direction and start walking.

 

 

There is no way this can go wrong.

 

 

 

Well, you found the big something.

 

 

 

Other than it being dilapidated, there’s nothing extraordinary out here. You guess the wall is a little fresh for something that’s in complete shambles.

 

 

 

The fog doesn’t let you see the time of day properly, but you figure making bossy-butt wait a while longer is worth it. You lean up against the oddly soft wooden door and relax.

 

 

 

ah………..youve noticed…………………

 


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two of these updates were drawn with pencil as a result of a very long, involuntary hiatus. The intent was to redraw them once the artist's tablet was back from being repaired, but they've been kept as they are for posterity.

 

Yeah. Yeah, you’re good. 

You look like a right fool, though. 

 

 

 

It’s a weird flat grid, with the tiniest lines etched into it. Touching the squares doesn’t do anything - in fact, they don’t even push down. It’s like someone took a slab and carved lines into it. 

 

 

 

…yeah, you might as well. You’re already in here. 

You take a moment to sit up and get your bearings.

 

 

 

Unsurprisingly, this circular room is as much of a dump as the outside. There’s a number of things here you don’t have a name for, but a vague sense of what they might be. 

Despite no visible source of light outside, the room is perfectly lit with the door open.

 

 

 

_“ **NOTICE:**  Please return to your homes. -Architect.”_

 

 

 

It’s just a little scrap with nothing on it. It must be part of the notice.

 

 

 

 

 

Sure, sure, whatever.

 

 

Who’s Alice?

 

 

 

 


	8. Chapter 8

 

It’s dust. Weirdly soft and non-irritating, but dust nonetheless. You’re pretty sure it’s the only reason you weren’t hurt from that fall.

 

 

 

This room is just lit enough for you to make out two piles of things in various states of disrepair. You  _think_  you can see edges of lighting along the walls, but you have no indication of what they actually are.

The air is cold, still, and smells faintly like freshly-dug earth.

 

 

 

…Huh. Weird.

A lot of this stuff is brand new. They’re hardly even dusty. This big screen has three gashes on the bottom, but other than that it’s perfectly fine.

 

 

 

In accordance with the Laws of Adventuring, you push both buttons as much and as fast as possible, without a single regard to their possible effects.

Luckily, it doesn’t matter, since the screen is unresponsive.

 

 

 

The gashes are uneven, but there’s no metal peeling off the edges. A peek through the gap reveals that the machine is entirely empty. It’s just a metal box with a screen. 

 

 

 

This cloth is stiff and torn, and the bottle shard makes your head itch, but it’s a definite step-up from last time.

 

 

 

The room becomes pitch black the moment you step away from the chute, so you fumble along in the dark, feeling along the walls for a door or stairway. All you get is a handful of crumbling cement and, for some reason, uncut stone.

 

 

 

Let’s see. For starters, you’ve got this box with a round window - maybe you put things into it?

 

 

There’s also a bottle, which only contains a cork.  

 

 

This, uh…gear.

 

 

And this metal sheet is… well, you don’t know what it’s  _supposed_  to be, but it’s got three holes punched into it, so that’s neat.

 

 

 

 

 

What are y-

 


	9. Chapter 9

 

_What rock do you id-_

 

 

 

 

Oh no. 

 

 

Hiding. Very good idea. You get up and take off-

 

 

IT’S FOLLOWING YOU WHAT DO YOU DO WHAT DO YOU DO

 

 

 

You find and hold up a high quality trash can lid as a shield. The orb stops inches away from the metal, but you can hear it humming aggressively. Impatiently, you almost think.

 

 

 

YOU DON’T  _WANNA_  LICK IT, IT PROBABLY TASTES LIKE GARBAGE

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

No, you’re fine. Irritated, maybe, but fine.

 

 

…Alright, maybe ‘irritated’ is putting it nicely. Really nicely.

 

 

 

Hey, you have a right to be upset. Infuritated. Murderous. Whatever.

 

 

It’s just been a bad couple of days, alright?

 

 

 

For once in your life, hitting things will not solve this situation. You’re going to have to play it smart this time.

Heavens help you.


	10. Chapter 10

 

Earlier today, the nerds put in another request for repairs, so  _technically_  you’re going to check out the damages done on the Ego floor. You’re only here so late because you’ve been busy with another project in town. 

That’s what you said to management, anyway. The truth is that you’re going to be able to work better if no one’s around to snoop and ask questions.

 

 

 

Funnily enough, you’ve actually just gotten a message from up top telling you to stop putting in requests for fire skills. Apparently, with all of your “initial capacities”, that’s not a “necessary function for your line of work”.

You’ve said this a million times. It’s  _not_  for your line of work. It’s for cool fire powers. You’ve got people to impress…and protect.

Apparently that’s just not good enough for His Royal Assholery. 

 

 

 

More or less. Everyone has what they need to get their jobs done. The Custodians can move things around with their minds, for example. So can the Practitioner-

 

 

-who’s still here. Great. Faint sounds of moving furniture are coming up through the lift. 

 

 

 

Let’s just say that the fewer people who know about this, the better. Word travels fast here, and if you-know-who catches wind of what you’re doing…

 

 

…You’re just going to have to take your chances with her.

 

 

 

Eh. It sounds stupid when you say it out loud. You’ve been trying to come up with a good name for it, but “bunker” sounds too formal, and “safe room” is lame. 

You make a mental note to bring it up with the Cosmologist the next time you see him. He’s good with titles and stuff. 

 

 

 

You punks got something you wanna say?

 

 

 

 

 

You knock politely to avoid startling her.

 

 

The Practitioner drops everything and shrieks anyways.  

 

 

“…Oh, it’s just you.”

“Sorry ‘bout the bottles,” you say.

“Oh, no, that’s my fault,” she says quickly. “I’ve… been a little jumpy. I didn’t think you were coming in today, actually.” 

 

 

“…I was held up.”

 

 

“Well, better late than never, I suppose. The damage’s over there.”

 

 

 

 

Whatever the nerds are cooking up next door. The Ego division was split up a while back to start experimenting with matter, but they have a shaky grasp on the world at best, so something’s constantly getting away from them and leaking through the walls. Sometimes it’s water, sometimes it’s acid. Usually it’s acid.

If they were given just a little caution, you wouldn’t be down here all the time, but they’re close to the Nurse’s office for a reason. 

 

 

 

“How have you been, dear?” 

 

 

“Busy,” you say, keeping your voice neutral. “Especially here. Those dogs are lucky I can’t touch them, otherwise I’d punt them all into the ocean.”

 

 

The Practitioner gives a flutey puff of laughter. “I know how you feel. Pax has actually come down from Pathos and apologized over how many patients I’m getting.”

 

 

“Seriously?”

 

 

“Well, it was on Teller’s suggestion, but I think it counts.” 

 

 

"Oh. Sure.”


	11. Chapter 11

 

“Say what’s on your mind, Nurse.” 

“Well, it…I can’t help but notice you haven’t…fixed the wall yet.”

 

 

“Just taking a few notes on the infrastructure. Seeing what can be added on to. Reinforced.”

“So you are up to something,” she says softly.

 

 

"I’m not going to ask. I have a feeling I wouldn’t like it, anyway.”

“Because you’ve got this weird ‘blasphemy’ thing going on, or because it’s probably a bad idea?” you respond, a little too sharply.

“I know you have this awful image built up in your head…” she says, trying to be patient. 

 

 

“Yeah, it’s all in my head. Sure. Abettor’s perfectly fine. You-”

 

 

“He isn’t that bad, Architect!” 

 

 

_“Really.”_

 

 

“I just think there’s a better way to go about this.”

 

 

“Like  _what?”_  

 

 

“Is there some secret other door I don’t know about? Anyone got a hidden power that can save us? There’s nothing else we can do! We’re stuck here unt-

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Uh...

 

 

 

"So-"

 

 

 

 

“H-hey! Hey! Wait a minute!” you shout, to no avail. The drake keeps climbing.

 

 

“YOU WANT ME TO THROW A ROCK!?  _I SAID **WAIT!”**_

 

 

 

 

“So is there a way out of this dump other than the lift?” you call up, vaguely trying to be polite. “Because, like, I can’t really climb or anything, and it’s kind of cold down here, and…well…I’d like to not be stuck in the dark forever.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Uh – thanks.” 

The voice that responds is low and shaky. “You never saw me, alright?”


	12. Chapter 12

 

You have a feeling that if you refuse to acknowledge everything that transpired in the last five minutes, then you’ll be just dandy.

You’re not even going to bother questioning these stairs or where they’re taking you. It’s fine. Whatever. Up you go.

 

 

 

_What did you literally **just**  say?_

 

 

 

You are having a great time. It’s a good thing everyone else can see this.

 

 

 

 

 

“Uh-” 

“You are in a hole,” he says. 

 

 

“Flabbergasting. Tell me more.” 

 

 

“I did not create this hole. It requires investigation.” 

 

 

 

“…So wait, okay. I scream  _bloody murder_  and you don’t care, but as soon as there’s a hole in the ground you come running?”

“I do not recall this,” he says.

“Dude, that was  _five minutes ago.”_

“I do not recall this.”

 

 

 

“Alright, look. You told me to figure out what happened to this world, right?”

 

 

“Anyway. You didn’t mention all of these weird orbs floating around.”

“I do not understand.”

“These stupid dark orb things! I’ve seen two by now, and they both, like…”

 

 

“I don’t know. They’re the memories of people, or recordings of events, or…”

 

 

“They tell you what has happened to my world?”

 

 

 

“Yes, I think so. Get away from me.”

 

 

“What has happened?”

“I don’t know enough yet- will you-”

 

 

“Then find the truth.”

 

 

 

“Say, Pax.”

 

 

“Is that your name? Pax?”

 

 

“It is familiar,” he says slowly. 

“Alright. You wouldn’t happen to know anything about the people here, would you?”

 

 

“I mean, I’m just assuming, since this is  _your world_  and whatever, that you would know something about whoever used to live here.” 

 

 

“There are no people.”

 

 

 

“Well, yeah, obviously, there aren’t people here anymore. But there  _were_ , and one of them-”

 

 

“-mentioned you… by…”

 


	13. Chapter 13

 

“Oh, you little-

 

 

“OKAY,  _FINE,_  WHATEVER,  _IGNORE ME!_  NOT LIKE I’M DOING ALL OF THIS  _FOR_ YOU!

 

 

_**“OUT OF THE GOODNESS OF MY HEART!”** _

 

 

…Alright, where did he go?

 

 

 

Fine. Whatever. You pick a direction and walk.

You swear, when you find him, you’re wringing his stupid little skinny neck.

 

 

 

THESE

THINGS

ARE

USE

LESS

 

 

 

Easier said than done, but fine. Sure. Whatever. Let’s just keep walking. Maybe that flat-faced idiot will show his stupid mug again and you can clock him proper.

_Calmly._

 

 

 

 

Well, you guess that’s  _kind of_ useful. You’d rather they help you fly, though.

 

 

 

Oh.

Does a cliff count? 

 

 

 

Down you go. 

 

 

 

Well, you  _think_ you see a shape, but the fog closes over it before you can get a good look. You smell salt, if that helps. 

 

 

 

Oh, you remember this.

 

 

 

You  _think_  you did this right. 


	14. Chapter 14

 

 

**YEAAAAAAAAH**

 

 

 

 

**_LET THEM SUFFER! YOU REIGN SUPREME OVER THE HAPLESS PEONS OF SAND…_ LAND….**place.

 

 

 

The name’s a work in progress.

 

 

 

It’s…dust?

 

 

 

Somehow dust feels a lot more noble than rags and broken bottles. 

 

 

 

You’d go out further, but you keep bumping into something.

 

 

 

Whatever it is, it’s wide and completely flat. It feels cold, but it’s got a weirdly soft texture. You’re actually a little creeped out just touching it. 

 

 

 

You don’t think you want to. In fact, you think you’d like to get as far away from whatever this is as possible. It feels wrong just being  _near_  it. 

 

 

 

Gladly. 

 

 

 

That’s a really good question. One you can’t even start to answer.

You mean, it sure seems like water - at least, you think what water is supposed to sound like. It makes waves, crashes at the shore, it feels cold. It just… happens to be dust, you guess.

 

 

 

Maybe. It’d have to be a pretty big explosion, though, right? Would it destroy everything and only leave dust?

Honestly, you can’t say. You haven’t seen an explosion in person yet.


	15. Chapter 15

 

Now  _that’s_  an idea.

 

 

 

To your left, the beach comes to an end. You don’t see anything of interest there.

 

 

To your right, the beach goes around a corner. You can’t see where it goes, but it must go somewhere, right?

 

 

 

Around the corner you go.

 

 

 

 

 

Looks to be a hole, alright. The darkness inside combined with the brightness outside make it impossible to see anything a few feet beyond the entry. 

 

 

 

Yeah, sure, right back underground, that sounds-

 

 

 

 

Can’t wait for the rest of the cliff to collapse on you. 

 

 

 

To your right is a… screen… thing. It’s embedded into the wall. Ahead of that is a… what is that called, a file box? There’s a hole in the wall above the rock just past that. And on the left is a nearly empty cabinet with a box in it.

 

 

 

You pick up the nearest one. Let’s see…

 

 

“Pathos Division Accidents, Part 4 of 9”, “Incendiary Incident” “Testing: Irascibility”, “multiple lacerations”, “forcible amputation”…

 

 

Snooze.

 

 

 

You have a feeling this would look a lot better if it were something other than a dumb report. Maybe a map?


	16. Chapter 16

 

The screen does not respond to any input from you. Maybe if you pull it off the wall…?

 

 

 

 

 

 

“You better not run again.”

 

 

“I ha- have a feeling that wouldn’t… work out in my favor, so. Fine.”

“Alright, good, because I have a  _lot_  of questions.”

“Y-you and me both." 

 

 

 

“Might as well get the obvious ‘who are you’ out of the way.”

 

 

“Uh, sure.”

 

 

“Mind if I…”

“Oh, yeah, go ahead.”

 

 

“Thanks.”

“So.”

“So, uh.” 

 

 

“I’m not sure if I should say.” 

“Why not?”

 

 

“It’s just, I’m trying to keep a l- a low profile here, and…”

 

 

“And, uh…”

 

 

“S-sorry, but… what are you?”

“I’m a bunny.”

“You sure about that?”

“Why else would I say it?”

“Alright, just mak- just asking.”

 

 

 

“You didn’t answer my question.”

“Which-?”

“Who are you?”

 

 

“I’m… nobody.”

“Sure, okay.”

“It- look. I’m trying t- I need to- it’s important that nobody knows I’m here. If he hasn’t mentioned me, then-”

 

 

“Okay, but now _I_  know you’re here. Does it make a difference whether I know your name or not?”

 

 

“…Are you going to say anything?”

You wave a hand. “What that lanky idiot doesn’t know won’t hurt him.”

“Lanky w- hm. I- fine, alright.”

 

 

 

“My… my name’s Fen. I’m Pax’s brother.”

“His what?”

“His br- like, I’m related to him? We’re- we’re family.”

“Okay.”

“And- well, he didn’t exactly… invite me here, so. I’m just… coming in to check if everything’s okay, and then I’ll leave.”

“Obviously things aren’t, though.”

“I’ve- I’ve gathered.”

 

 

“The whole place is a mess. Damaged structures, things just… crumble back to their base state when you touch them…”

 

 

“Look at this. Lunar cycles.”

 

 

“You get days and nights here?”

“Seems like it, yeah.”

 _"And-_  and the night system rotates. I don’t get it. That’s such a waste of ener- is that why there’s fog everywhere?”

“Couldn’t tell you.” 

 

 

 

“Anyway.”

“Anyway?”

 

 

“Continuing on. Masks.”

“What… what about them?”

“Why are you two wearing them? Should I have one?”

 

 

 _“Wearing,_  I- no, you- no. This is me. This is my face.”

 

 

“This is your  _face.”_

_“Do **not-”**_

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


	17. Chapter 17

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Well, that was a waste of time. Now what?

 

 


	18. Chapter 18

 

Yeah, why not. Haven’t been down the other side of the beach yet.

 

 

 

Can’t ever hear that enough.

 

 

 

Well, so far, it looks like it’s just a beach. You’ll start walking, though.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hungry is, like… connected to “eating”, right?

 

 

 

That… doesn’t seem real. Those sound like a bunch of fake things.

 

 


	19. Chapter 19

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It’s not working. For some reason, your hand is going right through them. You can’t even feel what you’re trying to grab.

 

 

 

…Yeah, you get the feeling this isn’t going to work. 

 

 

 

Sounds almost like… voices? 

 

 

 

Man, you can’t understand a word being said. Whoever’s there is talking awfully quietly. 

 

 

 

Not a whole lot.

 

 


	20. Chapter 20

 

You tap and knock here and there, but this door is completely solid, even with the cracks. You’re not going to do anything to it.

The voices on the other side suddenly cut off as a result of your knocking, though.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What are you talking about? Everything’s fine.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


	21. Chapter 21

 

 

'

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  


 

 

 

 

 

 


	22. Chapter 22

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There are five doors, which are probably the most interesting thing here.

 

 

The floor swirls and shifts color every time you move, and… 

 

 

From what you can see, the room just extends into a hallway on both sides. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


	23. Chapter 23

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


	24. Chapter 24

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It’s becoming clear to you that you didn’t think through your cool entry into the void.

 

 

 

You can move, but everything feels… loose? Floaty? But a little dense too. You’re not sure how to describe it.

 

 

 

We’ve been over this. These are the most useless attachments to one’s head that have ever existed. You’d have to manually flap them up and down to get anywhere. 

 

 

 

Okay,  _now_  you’re getting somewhere.

 

 


	25. Chapter 25

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


	26. Chapter 26

 

What should you check out first?

 

 

 

_“Technician:_

_“I would first like to express my gratitude for your unfailing grace and humoring of my many, doubtless bothersome questions and demands. Convincing anyone else to do what you’ve done can be difficult, to say the least. Were it not for you, I wouldn’t be able to make any progress the way I have recently. Once everything has settled down, I will ensure you’re properly thanked and rewarded._

_“That being said, the notes for tomorrow:_

_“1. Following the past few experiments, Pax has been bedridden for several days, has lost track of a few memories and is easily confused. Had he not insisted on inspecting things himself, I wouldn’t have let him go anywhere. Please treat him the way you’ve treated me and oblige whatever request he makes. I will personally make up for any time or resources you must sacrifice for him._

_“2. The Abettor has asked for an audience with you and I specifically. We are to meet with her at her post in the evening after the day’s activities are completed. I suspect she’s gotten wind of the accident with the Practitioner and may need some reassurance. That, and she’s probably looking forward to your most recent ‘project’._

_“3. I know you’re wiser than this, but I’m compelled to say that you must not engage the Architect in whatever debate she tries to stir up. She’s been in a very bad mood this week and has lashed out at me and towards Pax. You two seem to get along well enough, but I can’t say for sure what she’ll do if riled up any further. Perhaps have the Cosmologist nearby just in case._

_“That is all for now. Thank you again for everything._

_“-Orator.”_

 

 

 

 

This note has different handwriting.

_“Smithy:_

_“Look, I’m not going to go over what you already know. You’re not stupid. You don’t need a reminder. But you **have**  to see how bad it’s gotten. I can’t be the only one here with a problem with how things have gone._

_“I don’t believe a single word coming out of Teller’s mouth. There wasn’t an ‘accident’. There wasn’t an ‘unfortunate incident’. That was attempted murder out of some stupid, pointless rage because our lord and master can’t control himself anymore and no one is trying to do anything about it. I got into it with the Nurse and she denied it ever happened. She’s not the only one that’s had her mind washed of all this, either._

_“I know you just want to avoid trouble, and I get it. I do. But it’s right in front of us now and we have to stop it as soon as possible. If not for you or me, at least for Bett._

_“That was a low blow. I’m sorry. But that’s the truth._

_“-Architect.”_

 

 

__

__

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

…That’s a little big to be licking. 

 

 

 

 

 

Oh yeah, that’s great. Metal tastes _awesome._


	27. Chapter 27

 

Well, you’d be able to tell if you could  _move the friggin’ thing._

 

 

 

 

 

THIS MAY HAVE BEEN THE INCORRECT LEVERRRRRR

 

 

 

 

 

Look, you know you were just born, but you’re not that stupid. Sure, let go, let’s fly against the wall and have something horrible happen to you that you don’t actually know about but fully expect because  _that’s just how these things roll, right?_

 

 

Unfortunately, to the benefit of these suggestions, there is no grip on this thing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We sure do.

 

 


	28. Chapter 28

##  **GAME!**

 

 

 

 

 

Like this?

 

 

##  **!EMAG**

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nothing special. You were supposed to greet this guy, you guess. You’re just waiting until he’s done with whatever he’s doing to the telescope.

Problem is, he’s been working on that thing without acknowledging you for a real long time. You’re thinking of leaving pretty soon if he doesn’t turn around.

 

 

 

 

 

 


	29. Chapter 29

 

 

 

Oh. That’s new. You don’t know what to make of that.

 

 

 

 

 

That little guy was the Cosmologist, you know that for sure. That was also the first time the Architect met him. This feels important, but… you’re not sure why.

 

 

 

Suspicious indeed…

 

 

 

You’ve seen pretty much everything. That screen over there is the only thing you haven’t checked out yet, but from the Architect’s memory, you gather its job was to record a current image of the sky.

It’s torn at the top, so you doubt it’s still working.

 

 

 

The temptation is overwhelming, but…

 

 

 

 

 

 


	30. Chapter 30

 

You can’t even  _touch_  it, how can you eat it? And that’s gross.You’re gross.

Shame on you.

 

 

 

Alright, alright, okay. You have that other building to check out. Enough tomfoolery.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What? You’re fine! What’s wrong with annoying a…

 

 

 

 

 

 

Great. Now what do you do? Other than sit around and wait for him to come back, that is. 

 

 

 

Right. Off to the last thing to check out, then.

 

 

 

Now, you haven’t really looked at yourself since you woke up, but you  _do_  feel like these things weren’t here originally. 

 

 


	31. Chapter 31

 

You see the artist didn’t get any better between this pillar and the last one. Wonder what these “division” things are… and what “Cur” is. 

 

 

 

That’s probably it. You can’t think of another word that would fit there that would make sense. Maybe “curtain”? “Curtailed”?

 

 

 

This cloth is pretty heavy, but you can see some rips in it. Hang on…

 

 

Just…gotta…

 

 

 

 

Not too bad this time around!

 

 

 

What ey…

 

 

 

 

 

 

G…game…?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


	32. Chapter 32

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter will potentially be updated once further pages are made.

 

 

 

…You don’t _feel_  good.

 

 

 

No. You know wh- no. Are you kidding? You just witnessed about 30 people dying.  _At once._ You can’t just get up and do whatever right now like nothing happened.

You don’t even know what you  _can_  do right now. You’re still feeling the sensation of being torn apart several dozen times simultaneously.

 

 

 

Well, you  _guess_  it could be worse…

 


	33. Chapter 33

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What do you…

 

 

Oh… what…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


	34. Chapter 34

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You don’t think he can hear any of you, but…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


End file.
